


Headlights

by Aris



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-22
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-05 19:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1830241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aris/pseuds/Aris
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki, Tony's noticed, is always covered in bruises.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was the calm before the storm, Tony observed idolly. An all encompassing quiet lay gently over his surroundings, stilling trees in their passive swaying and quieting children where they lay in their mothers arms, utterly unburdened by a life they had yet to live. Blissful ignorance, cradling the town in a light embrace.

The tennis court he was heading across was a dull vermilion colour, bland and flattened to its cement foundations by foot after foot treading heavily on its spongy epidermis. Small rocks broke off under his feet and skittered away to the sides, nestling back into small alcoves in the floor, barely making a sound past the hushed impact. Tony savoured it, the peacefulness, and was quietly tempted to close his eyes to the greying sunset. He felt, for a moment, utterly free of any worry - content to breath in static air, to take this wonder as his own.

A dragging sound, of rocks against rocks, hooked Tony from his brief equilibrium, drawing his attention towards a willowy figure slouched against the railing of the court, skin cast into evening shadows by overhanging clothing. Tony halted mid step and squinted waily at the stranger, lowering his head slightly to determine if he knew them or not. They remained still, pressed to the metal netting, and apparently ignorant to his presence. Tony took a moment more, still dazed by the wash of well being that had previously drowned him, before taking a step closer.

A particularly large stone dislodged at his heel and skimmed away with an almost joyful exuberance, immediately causing the figure before him to jolt up right, revealing a pale and hallowed face to an onlooking Tony. For a moment all Tony could register was a bruise contrasting nastily with white skin, glowing unbecomingly in the remaining tendrils of the red sky. Its dark perimeter encompassed an entire eye, bringing to it a swelling that forced that eye to closure. The remaining eye was sharp and a vibrant green, brought out even more so by the sky's reflection in spectacularly blown pupils, and it narrowed as it took in Tony's presence. 

It was Loki, Tony realised, a second too late, as a familiar smirk graced the thin lips of the man before him. 

"Tony Stark!" the name was almost crowed, Loki's entire face twisting to pronounce it in the most demeaning manner possible, "What brings you here, to this humble park? Wasn't the island daddy bought you last year enough? Setting your eyes on the ground of us common folk, now?" a gaunt hand gestured to the area around them, flicking in a facade of grandeur, reminiscent of Shakespearean performances. Tonys' heart would have sunk low in his chest, if it hadn't been for the sting of anger rising to Loki's words. Of course. Even beaten to a pulp Loki remained arrogant as ever, even more so, even, like a cornered animal spitting and slashing at anyone who approached it.

"What happened?" Tony forces himself to ask, handing tightening and loosening on the handle of the bag he held. He wouldn't rise to the bait - he'd promised Thor that he would _stop fighting with his little brother._ No matter how much Loki tried to rile him up. He promised.

Loki seemed almost taken aback by Tonys question, and if Tony knew any better he would have said the younger Odinson was surprised. However, whatever expression it had been quickly melted away into Loki's usually impervious face, though it was ruined to an extent by the fact that Loki had undoubtedly been punched in the face. Probably more than once. It was a long way from its usual poise.

"Is that concern I hear, Stark? Why, I'm flattered," Loki pushed himself from his support with some effort, swaying when he was forced to hold himself upright. "Do give Thor my regards, will you? He'll be ever so delighted to hear we're getting on so well together." Loki bent for a rucksack Tony hadn't even noticed, and his torso winced on his way down, face screwing up and one hand rising to push at his ribs, almost as if he was keeping them in place, as he righted himself and began to limp off towards the gate Tony had entered through, completely ignoring Tonys curious looks.

"Loki!" the aforementioned man paused in his departure, not quite bothering to turn around but cupping his ear in mock attentiveness, "Your house is the other way." Tony pointed the same way he was walking, though he knew Loki wasn't looking, and watched as the other boy hesitated, seemingly thinking something over, then once again took up his painful pace away from home.

He stared after him a while, brow creased in concern, before casting his eyes up at the sky, sighing at the sense of foreboding that settled deep in his stomach. There had always been something off about Loki, if it wasn't how closed off he appeared, especially when compared to the ray of sunshine that was Thor, it was most definitely the bruises that he accumulated day after day; the bruises Thor seemed to brush off and the teachers looked on with only knowing glances. It made Tony's head ache, only lightly, at the idea of a situation he didn't want to be true. That _couldn't_ be true. 

A car drove past, the deep rev of its engine reminding Tony that he needed to be home soon. He glanced back before leaving the park, searching for a thin, dark figure.

He found only streetlights.


	2. Chapter 2

Tony can't help but notice that Loki is absent from school the following day, and so is his singular friend, Thanos. He hopes Loki had stayed the night with him, no matter how much he dislikes Thanos- the idea of Thors baby brother out on the streets, and Tony possibly knowing about it, didn't sit right with him at all. Still, he remains jittery and at every new person who enters the same room as him, he looks up at doors, imagining a gaunt and bruised face to be sneering at him.

Usually, when Loki has bruises, they're on his wrists, and Tony recalls seeing some ringing his neck. He had brushed them off at the time as none of his business, vividly remembering having those kind of bruises himself after a particularly satisfying night. Loki had never seemed very proud of his own bruises, like Tony had been of his. Of course, Tony could just be worrying about nothing - not everyone was as open about their sex life as he was, and maybe Loki was ashamed to be into that sort of thing. Though something told Tony that, if Loki liked that, he wouldn't be shy of it. Anything to make people uncomfortable was promptly shoved down their throats by the younger Odinson.  
A sharp jab to his side pulled him up from the ravine he had been thinking in, and he looked up to be promptly met by the raised eye of one Natasha Romanoff.

"You've been acting strange. What happened?" she asked forwardly, hand settling on his lower arm where it rest on the desk. of course Natasha noticed - she always noticed. Tony smiles weakly and rubs at the spot where Natasha poked him, feigning pain.

"You know I was at Pepper's last night?"

Realisation dawned on Natasha's face, and her voice rose pitches in exasperation "Tony, please don't tell me you-"

"No!" he answered quickly, lowering his hands in shushing movements, "No, we didn't fight or anything. It was fine. Perfect. Amazing. I was, uh, walking back, you know, through the park. This was before that storm-"

"Tony," Natasha interrupted, "are you going to tell me what happened or give me a second by second recount of the moments leading up to it."

Tony snorted, "Spoil sport, I was just setting the scene. You know, like fancy writers do. 'It t'was a cold summers night' all that jazz." Natasha coughed lightly into her free hand, "Okay, okay. I saw Loki in the tennis court last night," her expression flattened into seriousness, "He looked really beaten up. I did ask him what happened but he just threw some quips at me and limped off - he wasn't going home, though. I don't know where he was going. He look really bad, Tash. He was wincing all over the place. And now he's not in college today..." Tony looked up towards the door for a moment before turning back to the table and running his hand through his hair, listening for her reaction.

"Thor doesn't look worried," Natasha said after pause, "maybe he went home later."

Or maybe, Tony thought while nodding along with Natasha, maybe he just didn't care.

###### 

Howard wasn't home when Tony let himself in, though Tony was hardly surprised. Stark Industries took Howard everywhere and nowhere - at this particular time, the older Stark resided in Canada to help set up the new technologies branch in preparation for the release of the new Stark phone. Tony didn't miss him.

He dropped his bag at the entrance of his room, and lowered himself into his computer chair, running his hands down the monitor to find the button to turn it on. He had made a mess in the lab last night, and was too tired to bring himself to sort it out tonight. Instead, he brought up Python and tested out some possible While and If loops for a robot he had been planning to make for a while now; admittedly it would take more advanced programming than this to get anything to even think about moving, but it was soothing to let his mind slip into all the possibilities presented to him by that little white window. All the things he could create.

As he typed in the sequence for automated responses to standard questions, a small pop up a the right of his screen told him his school email had received something. He clicked on it and rubbed his forehead at the prospect of homework. It was all so easy at this level, and though he was well past it, his Physics teacher insisted he needed to compete the assigned work or his grades would drop - no matter how beyond it he was. On top of that, he was regularly set tasks for his level that didn't seen to get him anything but additional work to impress Universities with. Not that he needed to impress Universities anymore than he had - he worked well above his grades in all his subjects, and it was only his now deceased mothers wishes that kept him from moving any more years up than he already had.

Marie hadn't wanted him to be stuck with peers years older than him when he was growing up. Howard had always argued that Tony should get ahead while he could - he was eager to show off his son to the world, show that the Stark bloodline still ran strong. Marie stood strong though, adamant Tony would stay within his age group, or as near to it as possible. Tony can vividly remember the argument he had overheard while tucked into bed, the yelling and sometimes the tell tale smashing of objects.

After the accident, Howard never mentioned it again. No-one did.

Tony sighed to himself shallowly, suddenly feeling himself fill up with a restless energy. Maybe he should clean the lab tonight, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, well, I do have another chapter after this. but I'm trying to get 100% completion on GW2 and literally waste hours doing that everyday. So writing kinda got shelved - I don't feel well, either, and I'm trying not to incorporate an ED in this for my piece of mind. Sorry!

**Author's Note:**

> Uh, I actually want to get some of this written down before posting more. I'm trying to change my writing style and it's a bit... laborious. If you're interested please do drop me a line, it would be nice to know people want to read this after I finally get it down. I already have another chapter aha


End file.
